Pudsey

Pudsey was born in 1986. He was created by designer Joanna Ball and was designed to be the face of the forthcoming BBC Children in Need Appeal. Pudsey's name was taken from the Yorkshire town of Pudsey, Joanna's original home.

Although Pudsey was only intended to host the BBC Children in Need Appeal for one year, the public loved him and he went on to become the face of BBC Children in Need. Pudsey's famous line of merchandise has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity over the years.

For 15 years this bandaged, yellow bear has BBC Children in Need and its work become familiar all over the world. He has also become one of the most recognised and well-loved characters to be associated with a charity.

Children In Need

The BBC Children in Need Appeal is the most important single event in the BBC calendar and the only occasion when the whole of the BBC joins together in support of a single project on tv, radio and online. The BBC's first broadcast appeal for children took place in 1927, in the form of a five-minute radio broadcast on Christmas Day.

The appeal in 1980 was broadcast for the first time as a telethon. This event, hosted by Terry Wogan, Sue Lawley and Esther Rantzen, captured the public's imagination to such an extent that the amount raised increased dramatically to more than £1 million.